Printing device



Aug. 1l,` 1942.

.1f P. EsloNDl` PRINTING DEVICE Filed April 16, v1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 1l, 1942. J, P, BIONDI PRINTING DEVICE Filed April 16, 1940 3 SheetS-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOS-PH /o/VU/ Aug. 11,1942. 1 P, BIONDI PRINTING DEVICE Filed April 16, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 f INVENTOR. Jos/EPH /o/V/ H m n A Patented Aug. 1l, 1942 UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to means for printing or stamping designs directly upon at and curved articles such as ehinaware, crockery, bathroom .Y

fixtures,l stoves, wallpanels and paper, bottles, etc. The article to which the designis to be transferred may be of any known material such as glass, leather, tile, metal or the like. Various tones and tints of color may be reproduced and y if desired, the colors may be made permanent by any of the well known processes.

The process known as decalcomania is utilized in this invention forv transferring designs from one medium to another. The process itself is old and well known and generally consists of transferring a certain design from paper to any surface suitable for receiving it, but in this invention, the design to be transferred maybe on other materials than paper and made inthe form of a cylinder instead of the common practice of making the transfer from a flat surface material. In making the transfer in accordance with this invention, an especially constructed cylinderv i.:k

presented having novel means associated therewith which effectively carrieson the transfer in 'a continuous manner so as to produce repeated designs in a logical order. In addition, means are provided to avoid wear on the prime holder ofthe design by introducing an intermediary element between the prime holder and the pressure element. n

One of the principal objects of this', invention is to .present a] device which is operative to make continuous prints, by decalcomania processes, from a cylindrical prime holder of the design to any surface suitable to receive the design.

Another of the objects is to provide a design transferring` device whichis capable of giving perfect results in a rapid and economical manner. Still another object is to provide means for transferring designs in which theworking pressure upon the prime design holder is uniform and at a predetermined pressure adjustment.

Other objects, advantages and features of myy invention will appear from the accompanying drawings, the subjoined detailed description. the preamble of these specications and the vappended claims.

Applicant is .about to illustrate and describe one of the forms of his invention in order to teach one how to make, luse and vend'A the same, but it is to be understood that the drawings and description thereof are not to limit the invention in any sense whatsoever, except as limited by the appended claims. Y

In the drawings:

Fig.` 1,- shows the preferred form of the 'inven-Y tion in side elevation, parts being broken away to show in sections.

Fig. 2 shows a part of Fig. 1 in enlarged sectional view. 1

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view.

Fig. 4 is an elevational View, partly in section of a portion of the .invention Fig. 5 is a horizontal view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view taken` substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. l. l

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of a portionv of the invention, with parts broken away to show sections thereof..

Fig.V 8 isa side elevation of a slightly modified form of the invention, showing parts in section.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view at right angles to Fig. 8.

Fig.V l0 s`a cross sectional view of a.' slightly modifiedform of the invention.

Fig. 11 is a plan View 'of 'another modified form of the invention.

Y Fig. 12 is a view taken along the line l2-I2 of Fig. ll.

`The preferred form of the invention comprises end frames I and 2 to rotary support the superposed cylinders 3 and l. Each end frame includes lateralv uprights 5 and 6 having diverging legs 1 and 8 of angle iron and feet 9 and I0 re` spectively which may be fixed to the floor by bolts or screws.

At the uppervr part of rthe frame, each upright is provided with offset portions VII and brackets I2 tosupport flat shelves vI3 as shown. At the very top of each frame is a slit clamp Il to hold the ends of the axle I5 of the cylinder 3. This clamp vhas a lower section I6 which is integral with orbolted to the top of the frame, and a removable top section I1. The topsection is held to the lower section by the quick acting release hand bolts I8 which have their lowerv ends pivoted to the lower section at I9. The sides of the sections are slotted at 2U so that `when the handles of the bolts are loosened, the

bolts can beJ swung away from the topsection leaving it freeto be removed and 'hence the axle I5. cylinder 3 and associated parts.

The lower roller or cylinder l and `its axle ends 2| are supported by the end frames in the adjustablebea'ring'blocks 22. Lateral ribs 23 on each side of the block provide a groove so that the block can be moved vertically therein. A l

cross web 24 of each frame is provided with integral boss the boss having a tueaded bore in which is the threaded stern 26 of the bearing block adjuster. One end of the stern has a hand wheel 21 fixed thereto and the other end has free action in the bored boss 28 which is integral with the block 22. The lock nut 29 is provided to hold the stem in adjusted position. The roller 4 has extended spacer hubs 30 and 3| to keep the roller in position. This roller is an idler and is rotated by friction roller 3.

The top cylinder 3 has the spider ends 32 and 33 veach of which have central hub sleeve 34 and rim 35 joined together by the cross bar 36. The rim has a protruding lip 31 forming an annular recess into which snugly ts an annular removable ring 38, congurated as shown, held together by a plurality of spaced apart bolts 39 which have threaded engagement with the rim.

To form the cylinder intermediate the ends 32 and 33 are inner fabric or mesh cloth 49 and outer fabric or mesh cloth 4|. The cylinder ends are held spaced apart by the rigid bar 42, its arms 43 and 44 and their respective integral sleeves 45, as Well as the washers 46. The sleeves 45 are fixed to the axle l|5 by any suitable means, such, for instance, by a key or set screw in any well known manner.

with the cylinder or upper Since the axle 5 does not rotate, the arms 43 and 44 remain stationery. A

squeegee or the like 41, of soft rubber or other suitable resilient material, is cemented, vulcanized or otherwise held in the slot 48 of the bar 42, the slot and squeegee extending substantially the full length of the cylinder.

By referring to Fig. 4 of the drawings, it will be seen that the bar 42 has an integral plate 49 which is arranged to slide vertically in the space 50 between the legs 5| and 52 of the arms 43 and 44. The legs are turned to form flanges 53, the ends of which snugly engage the sides of the bar 42. Over the plate 49 is a compression coil spring 54, shown pressed beneath a square plate 55. This plate is vertically adjustable by the set screw 56 which has a' long threaded stem in threaded engagementwith a threaded bore in the web 51, as shown. The head of the screw is preferably squared so that the screw can be easily raised or lowered by using the proper wrench.

To hold the bar 42 Aand its plate 49 in proper alinement with the arms 43 and 44, the plate 49 near its ends is provided with integral and vertical beads 56 which slide in vertical grooves 59 on the inner sides of the arms, see Eig. 5. By this arrangement, the bottom edge of the squeegee 41 is held firmly, but resiliently against the inner surface of the fabric 40. The pressure is just great enough to transfer the design onithe outer surface of the fabric 4| to the thing passed between the rollers 3 and 4. The fabrics 40 and 4| should be seamless when it is desired to print continuous lines or designs without any noticeable break in its continuity. These fabrics may be silk, but the one having the most wear mayl be double or even made of stronger material suchv as metal or any tough synthetic material such as Nylon." The outer fabricl 4I may be doubled or even tripled when it is desired to slow down the feed of the ink, color or dyetherethrough.

Wherever practical, a single screen or fabric may be used instead of the two as shown. Gold colors can be printed by applicants device Just as easy 4' supply of ink, paint, dye, or other kind of coloras any other colors which are generally more i viscous than gold paint.

When sheets of paper and Vsimilar flexing materials are printed upon, the outer surface of the roller 4 is preferably hard, such as steel, hardened plastics and the like, but when fragile material such as glass plates, sheets of ceramic materials, etc. are printed upon, the roller 4 is preierably surfacediwith a soft substance such as sponge rubber.'

To rotate the upper cylinder or roller 3. each end hub thereof is fixed to a bearing sleeve by keying means or the set screw means 60. On one end of the roller is shown a bearing sleeve 6| and a similar one 62 on the other end. Each sleeve is free to rotate upon the fixed axle l5 and each is keyed to a bevel end gear 63. At the sides of the device are inclined shafts 64 and 65 iournalled in bearing boxes 66 at their ends, the boxes being rigidly held to their respective adjacent standards. Keyed to theends of shafts 64 and 65 are bevelled gears 61, the top ones of each shaft meshing withy their adjacent gears 63 and the bottom ones meshing with bevelled gears 69 which are keyed to horizontal shafts 69 and 10.

The shafts 69 and 10 have end couplings 1| and v12 which are joined together by theshort shaft 13. This short shaft is keyed to a worm wheel 14 which is meshed with the worm 15 fixed to the shaft of the electric motor 16. A cross beam 11 has its ends fixed to the end frames I and 2, and supports the motor 16. A variable speed motor is used in conjunction with the reduction gearing shown so that the rollers will turn very slowly.

'I'he modied form of the invention shown in Figs. 11v and 12 employs only the print carrying cylinder or roll which has end rings 9| to receive and hold the double fabrics B2 and 83. The fabric 82 receives the print to be transposed upon the article to be printed, and the fabric 83 reueives the wear from the squeegee 84. Both fabrics are held to the recess 95 of the ring by the collar 96. The ring 9| has a cross bar 31 and a hub 88 vwhich is xed to a bearing sleeve 39 which rotates upon an axle 90. At each end of the axle 90 is a port 9| to which the axle 90 is securely fixed by any suitable manner such as by keying or by set screw; the elements 90 and 9| may be welded if desirable. To support the elements *9| yat both ends of the cylinder 80, is a U-shaped bar 92 having the handle 93. The squeegee 84 has the usual top plate 94 which is held to the end arms 95. The end arms are fixed to the axle 90 by sleeves 96. The construcv Amanual operative one, is very useful for printing designs upon jars, vases, etc. which could not ordinarily be printed in the preferred form of the invention.

Any'one ofthe inventive forms receive their ing' material, by manual means into the open cylinder upon which is cemented, glued or otherwise fixed the design stencilor pattern. Since the ends of the cylinder are open, except for the cross bar 36 of the preferred form; f. i., the ink or coloring material may be poured directly into the cylinder, or in the event the ink is too thick .for pouring, it may be put into the cylinderand Fixed to the axle end l5 is a hand pump |02 which may be anytype of grease gun or the like now commonly used for forcing lubricant into the bearings of automobiles. Such a gun for use with this invention may have a cylinder |03 open at both ends. One end has a. threaded portion |04 upon which is threaded a removable cap |05. The other end of the cylinder has a resilient band clamp |06 fixed thereto which can be tightened around thek end of the axle l by turning the screw |01 in an obvious manner. Within the cylinder'is a piston |08 xed to a rod |09 which terminates into a cross hand grip element ||0. To load ink into the pump, it is merely necessary to remove the cap |05 and the piston |08. When these parts are re-assenibled with a load of ink in the cylinder, the ink can be fed as required into the large cylinder'3 while it removes by turning the element ||0. Obviously, such a pump may be used upon any of the other forms of the invention should there be some advantage in doing so.

The form of the invention shown in Fig. 10

4has all the parts and elements of the preferred form of the invention except that a single screen or fabric is employed instead of the double ones 40 and 4| as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The number of fabrics to be used will depend upon the viscosity of the ink used, the perforation degree of the design stencil etc. Whenever necessary, the fabric is starched or otherwise made stiff or hardened to proper cylindrical form so as to facilitate its placement upon the cylinder ends and also to prevent collapse of the cylinder while under special use and conditions.

Figs. 8 and 9 show rollers 3 and 4 and a charge of coloring matter (ink) within the cylinder 3. The element I3 is a fragile piece of ceramic materialbeing printed with the design upon the dat stencil ||4. In this manner of using the preferred form of the invention, the stencil is not cylindrical or curved to fit the roller 3; instead, the stencil is fed between the rollers 3 and 4 along with the thing to be printed Since a fragile plate is being fed between therollers,

the roller 4- is provided with an outer resilient padding such as sponge rubber to avoid breakage of the plate.

Since the paint or coloring matter when cold is apt to become stiff and too thick for readily working its way through the interstices of the screens and fabrics upon the printing roll, means are provided for heating the paint and keeping it at the proper consistency. This maybe done by circulating a heating fluid, such as steam, hot

water or hot oil, through bores in the axle or by providing an electric or gas heating unit in the lower cylinder 4.y

vHaving thus described my invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a devicefor printing designs comprising a roller and a. cylinder having their curved surfaces substantially in abutment, a frame for supporting the roller and cylinder, said cylinder having its curved walls formed of resilient reticulated material adapted to pass ink, said cylinder having rigid ends with 'an annular recessed portion adapted to receive the ends of the said l material, an annular ring-like Vmember adapted to enter the recess and` firmly hold the ends of the material therein, an axle xed to the frame and extending through the cylinder and rigidly supporting an elongated squeegee therein, means including a sleeve connected to the said cylinder, 

